Opening the Door...

I have been missing in action for the last 19 months... How the time has flown since I last wrote the news of my grand daughters arrival. She is now a sturdy toddler who is constantly on the go and busy experiencing her expanding world...

The last year and a half has been hectic -  me, changing jobs within the same brand name but in a different location and cutting back my working life to a couple of days a week and let's not forget the house moving - all that sorting, packing and unpacking!!! And of course time spent interacting with "a little possum" on a regular basis and watching her grow...

I have come back here to the blog and wandered around in it from time to time. I felt like I was care taking an empty house as I checked that all was secure within its 'walls' and I have noticed that some of my 'neighbors' in my side bars have moved on leaving no forwarding address. As I went through and deleted them I couldn't help reflect on my blogging beginnings all those years ago - long before the - as we know it now - social media of Face Book, Twitter, Instagram and goodness knows what else.. How easy is it now to communicate about your life - a word or sentence, a photo and it is done!! As I write this I can see changes in the blogger platform making it far more user friendly from those first couple of years when just getting a post written up and a photo uploaded was very much trial and error - especially the latter. I can still remember people asking me what was a blog and was it safe??? How times have changed...

Have I come back to blog? Not really sure but my thoughts are that I would give it another chance. I have discovered you tube and within that - floss tube - a cross stitching community which I love connecting with. I doubt very much I will be come vblogger - not sure if that is the correct term - however I do enjoy watching these windows into everyone lives and of course their stitching. I am hard pressed to say which I enjoy the most - the stitching or the stitchers. People have fascinate me - so to have this opportunity to interact through this media is great. Although in saying that even through blogger and the old on line chat rooms/ forums I have met a great group of people over the years - including a few who I still stay in contact with both on-line and face to face.

Now down to business... What are you most likely to see if you visit here?? Again this will be a vehicle for my stitchy, crafty life and perhaps some reading and real life to keep it equally seasoned... This was the intended purpose for this blog way back from that very first entry all those many years ago - that and for my own record of what I was doing at that time. Nothing much has changed in that respect... I am going to give it a trial for a couple of months with a once or twice a week update. If by the end of that I feel it is redundant then I too will shut it down and call it an end of an era...

So what have I been doing??? I think that I have returned to my first love - cross stitch. For all the years I have been doing it I haven't got much to show as I was easily frustrated by it and would toss it aside the moment it became too difficult. Since finding floss tube, a group of people and more importantly someone reasonably local to share my love of stitching I have fallen in love with cross stitching all over again. Giddy in love and stash building like there was no tomorrow. I think too finishing a couple of long standing pieces gave me a  such a sense of satisfaction that I wanted to do more. Plus having a grand daughter has given me even a better excuse to stitch - my horizon is limitless... Whilst I may never be the greatest, fastest or complex pattern stitcher I enjoy it and it gives me both a sense of peace and accomplishment. Now I just have to live longer to stitch all that I have in my stash...

A stitching snapshot in random order... As I get more organised -  hopefully so will the photos...

Take care and keep stitching...

Cooee...

Hello... Is there anyone out there????

My new title...

You may address me as Nanna... Yesterday Brigitta Josephine Worthington was born. All well.. New nanna  still shaking... And may Grace be ever present in the World to witness a new born's first cry...

Until later, may blessings be counted

Sharon x

Books and Bittersweet

Apart from stitching my other obsession is books if you haven't already guessed or don't know me well... From time to time I will drop in the latest book that has taken my eye. 

Working in a bookstore as I do it isn't hard to go into overwhelm with the number of titles that grace the shelves. In the last month we have been starting to receive some great titles - all in time for Christmas selling no doubt... 

Sometimes there isn't much that sparks my imagination but the last few weeks I have almost become comatose with choice - so much to read - so little time... I just loved the jacket on this one and couldn't help but peak inside...

The new book - 'Bittersweet' - written by Colleen McCullough has made its debut for October... It has been suggested that with this book Colleen has returned to the style which made her novel 'The Thorn Birds' so very popular. I must admit I am enjoying every word of 'Bittersweet' and I have fallen in love with each of its four main characters - Edda and Grace, Tufts and Kitty. Even conniving Maude holds her own fascination. I can already see that this will be my reading distraction and I can imagine I will be diving into it every chance I get... To sum it up in one word - delicious!!!!!

Some spending...

Today was a beautiful day - just ripe for inspiration or as the case maybe for me - a wee bit of retail therapy... E had given me a gift voucher for Bustles and Bows and so I took myself off over there...

I had found a pattern in one of the cross stitch magazines I have stockpiled here... And after some deliberation decided that this one could be 'the one'...There is going to be some secret stitching done and fast secret stitching at that.... I didn't change the colours as I think they make a beautiful combination... Shirley who owns the shop is always on hand to help with choices - and there are many to tempt. She is a whiz with the needle in her own right and can offer great ideas and tips for the novice and experienced stitcher alike... I really appreciated the time she spent with me today as I mulled over fabric for this latest project...

Heirloom in the making...

But there was more in this treasure trove of a store...

I couldn't resist this beautiful book - all the illustration are from a quilt based on a German folk tale - Etwas von den Wurzelkindern (Mother Earth and Her Children) - First published in 1906. it was written by Sibylle von Olfers. The quilter Sieglinde Schoen Smith hand stitched and embroidered the entire quilt and to quote her it "took a year and a day"... I searched the web and found this article about her just after she won an award for her work... Apparently she created this masterpiece quite late in life and used it as therapy to grieve after the death of her son Steven...

Until later... Take care...

Sharon x x

Changing Weather Brings Out..

...this 'visitor' which suggests of the promise of things to come... Our cat Matilda alerted us to 'her new toy' which was on the mat just inside the front door... I am unnaturally afraid of them - however I don't like killing them either... E who has had a couple of experiences of her own with them is much braver than me and she catches them and releases them outside - in her words "so they can grow TWICE the size before coming back inside".  I stood a respectful distance and offered helpful suggestions - most of which were ignored... Matilda was rightly indignant as she was shut up out of harm's way so E could do her spider-catching duty without her 'help'. All went well with the capture and before IT could flex any of it hairy legs it was out in the garden...

We seem to have more than our fair share of these mini beasts - the down side to the warm weather as it settles in...

Until later..

Sharon - who is now watchful for more  spidery surprises.

Granitos stitch

Of all the things I  should could be stitching I'm playing with this. This is my practice piece for the Granitos stitch. I used a part of the Browyn Hayes pattern as a guide and I am happy with this first attempt - some of my petals aren't as uniform and the threads aren't lying as neatly as they should but that would come with practice I imagine... I really enjoyed doing this stitch as the petals come to life as you stitch... I used a very pale variegated thread for the one flower and loose petals - as the stitch took position the pink in the variegation suggested relationship to the deeper pink flowers but also offered balance. I am not sure with the two unattached petals  - I might add another couple... The yellow centre is colonial knots but because I didn't use a hoop they are a little loose... I thought I might use this piece as a patch in one of my unfinished crazy blocks - I with then finish the centre of the flowers and stitch the bee on as he is  at the moment  flying free...

Until later

Sharon x